Blackhawks' Crawford 'not that far away' from return

Antti Raanta will start in goal for the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, but consider the countdown on for Corey Crawford's presumed reclaiming of the net.

Crawford skated before the Hawks practiced at the United Center on Sunday, and the expectation is that he will return to practice following a three-day holiday break. From there, coach Joel Quenneville will begin the evaluation process in earnest.

"We'll see how he comes in after the break," Quenneville said. "We’ll expect him in practice during that next week. We'll get a better assessment."

There has been zero drop-off with Raanta, who is 7-1-2 with a 2.22 goals against average in 11 games. But Crawford's return at least should remove concern about having two viable goaltenders on hand.

"He's not that far away," Quenneville said of Crawford. "But you need some practice, you need some real pace and shots. Let's have a little more exertion than getting out there before (practice). You still haven't seen live bodies and pucks moving."

Quenneville also said there was no timetable to offer for veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's return.